Evening the Score
by Persephone1
Summary: Kagome had had every intention of gathering firewood. That is until she caught the scent of the hot springs. Where Inuyasha was bathing. Probably naked. After all the occasions Inuyasha has caught her bathing, Kagome decides it's time to even the score.


**Author's Note:** This story is the product of a perverted plot bunny that refused to get out of my head. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Inuyasha, he and Sesshomaru would take off their clothes _way _more often.

**Edit: **I have improved the summary and changed the stories name. I like it better than **Curiosity. **Sorry for any confusion.

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**Evening the Score**

If someone had asked Kagome what type of youkai had decided to ambush them on the road, demanding Jewel shards, she honestly wouldn't have been able to tell them. It wasn't like any other she had seen before. All she knew was that it was big and icky and it _oozed. _

However, despite its initial gross appearance, the thing was easily dispatched. All it took was one swing of Tetsusaiga and the slime monster was down for the count. Inuyasha hadn't even needed to engage the Wind Scar. Actually, it ended up being far more of an irritation in death than it ever had been in life. This was because when it was cut down, instead of collapsing in a bloody heap or being reduced to dust like most demons did when slain, this one had exploded. Not a particularly _big_ explosion mind you, but an explosion nonetheless. Most of the members of their team had manage to get out of the way in time, but Inuyasha had still been in striking range, and hadn't been able to avoid being splattered head to toe in blood, guts, and God knows what else.

To make matters worse, the stubborn hanyou, unable to bear the thought of losing so much daylight that they could be using to hunt shards, had absolutely insisted that they keep on traveling, despite all the youkai the bloody concoction could attract. In the hot sun, a thick, rusty brown crust had formed in his hair and clothes, causing Inuyasha to smell a bit…ripe.

Though, once they finally did settle in for the night, he was easily persuaded to take a dip in the local hot springs while everyone else set up camp (considering how good Inuyasha's nose was, it was amazing he hadn't passed out on his own body odor).

But in the hanyou's absence, someone else had to take his usual duty of gathering firewood. In the end, Kagome had been the one to volunteer. And she had had every intention of doing her duty, she really had. But that was before she caught the unmistakable scent of the springs. Where Inuyasha was bathing. Probably naked.

She _was not_ spying. That is what the miko kept telling herself. No not spying. Spying was something _Miroku_ would do (though probably not on Inuyasha, or any other man for that matter). She was just planning on taking a little peak. Was that so wrong? She had a right to be a bit curious. After all the times the hanyou (albeit accidentally) had caught her in the buff, it was only fair.

As Kagome approached Inuyasha's bathing destination, she said a silent thank you to whatever god that had decided to make hot springs so fragrant. Without it, her hiding place behind a tree would have been sniffed out in seconds.

At first, Kagome thought that the hanyou wasn't there, and she had seriously begun to consider just forgetting the crazy idea and going back to camp. But then his head emerged from the depths of the water. Along with the _rest_ of his body. And all thoughts of leaving flew out the window.

The girl's eyes widened as her "little peak" turned into blatant staring. 'Oh…_wow_' was the only coherent thought she could make sense of, which was okay because that pretty much summed it up.

Kagome had never realized just how attractive Inuyasha truly was. She had seen him with his shirt off before, but at the time she had either been too preoccupied worrying about the gaping hole in his chest or trying not to get herself killed by his homicidal full demon form to really pay attention. And of course, there also was the incident back in her time where he had been taking a bath with Souta and had ended up running into her room in the nude because the water had been too hot, but even then she had been too embarrassed to actually _look_, and besides, all areas of interest were covered in suds (okay, maybe she had looked a little).

But now, here Inuyasha was, in all his naked male glory, and nothing short of the complete and total destruction of the world could stop Kagome from appreciating the incredible site.

The hanyou's long ivory hair seemed even purer in the pale moonlight, and his eyes glowed brilliant, piercing amber, offsetting his lightly tanned skin. Tiny drops of water ran from his neck and down his perfectly formed chest like drops of liquid diamond. She had never realized how _muscular_ Inuyasha's body was underneath all that fire rat.

Her hungry eyes followed the lines of his toned legs, and slowly wandered up to his crotch. Immediately Kagome felt heat rise to her cheeks. She was hardly an expert on that particular…_area_, but even in her limited experience, she knew what she was seeing was _very _impressive.

And of course, he just wouldn't be Inuyasha without the fluffy puppy ears perched on his head, though at the moment they were a bit damp and droopy.

He was beautiful. No, beautiful was too _human_ a word to accurately describe his unearthly perfection. He was a god. A magnificent sex god created from every horny teenage girls' (and most likely more than a few teenage boys') greatest fantasies.

And then he stepped out of the pool and shook himself dry, and he was Inuyasha again (though Kagome did get a nice view of his backside).

However, this glimpse is what inviteably doomed her. For when she caught site of the hanyou's bare rear (which was almost as stunning a sight as his chest), a gasp had made its way out of her throat, and she hadn't been able to stifle it in time. The hot springs may have messed with his sense of smell, but unfortunately, it did absolutely nothing to his hearing. His adorable pointy ears swiveled in her direction, and soon those catlike golden eyes Kagome had so ardently admired were locked on to her.

One second he was looking at her from across the distance, the next second he was inches away from her, and the miko found herself wondering if he had always been so _tall._

"Kagome? What are you doing here?" Inuyasha demanded, a blush of his own blooming across his perfect face. Somehow, in the short amount of time it had taken him to get to her he had managed to get his (slightly damp) hakamas on, she noted with some disappointment.

For a few seconds, all they did was stand there in awkward silence. But then those beautiful eyes widened in realization, and Kagome knew she was in trouble. "Were you…_spying _on me?"

"No! Not at all! I was just…" she trailed off lamely. Because that was _exactly_ what she had been doing. Forget spying, she had been outright _gawking_ at him. And she couldn't even summon up the words for a good excuse because somewhere down the line she had completely forgotten why she had been out here in the first place.

"Kagome? What happened to you? I thought you were going to gather firewood." And just when she thought this situation couldn't get any worse, there was Sango, closely followed by Miroku and Shippo. They must have gone looking for her when she hadn't come back after a while.

"Well, I guess she decided watching me bathe would be more _interesting_!" Inuyasha's face was rapidly beginning to resemble a tomato, but whether this was because of embarrassment or anger, Kagome wasn't sure. Possibly both. The hanyou had never been a particularly modest person, but even for him this was crossing a line. Especially when you considered how many times the girl had sat him for allegedly peeking in on her.

"No! It's not like that!" she squeaked, shaking her head in emphasis. It was pointless to defend herself, there was nothing to defend and no one would believe her anyway, but the urge to do so remained.

"Then what are you doing out here?" Sango asked, looking extremely disappointed. Kagome knew how the demon slayer felt about lechery, and Sango had thought that the girl was better than that. _Kagome _had thought she was better than that.

"I was…I was…" But of course, there was no reasonable explanation to why she had strayed near the hot springs, where she had _known_ Inuyasha was going to be, especially when it was so far off the beaten path and there was no useable kindling nearby. Maybe Kagome could have come up with one if she had been a better liar, but as it was all she had was the truth.

"Now Kagome, there is no need to be embarrassed." Miroku said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It is perfectly natural for a girl your age to be curious about the male body."

Oh great, _Miroku_ understood. She had sunken down to the same level as the perverted monk. Kagome bristled as she felt that "comforting" hand on her shoulder glide down her backside and quickly swatted it away. Okay, maybe not _that_ bad, but pretty darn close.

Suddenly, a small hand tugged on her skirt, and Kagome was met with Shippo's curious gaze. "I don't get it. What's the big deal? It isn't like Inuyasha is a girl or anything. You see me naked all the time. Why is this any different?"

There was a great deal of difference, but Kagome didn't feel like explaining it to him. Not now or ever. Maybe Miroku could when the kit was older.

Choosing to ignore the question, Kagome simply blinked stupidly at her friends, embarrassed, ashamed, and utterly speechless with her gaze shifting from one face to another. And in that moment, she knew with complete certainty that she was never going to be able to live this down. Miroku would be making wise cracks about this until the end of time, and while she was sure Sango would forgive her eventually, Kagome knew she had lost a tiny shred of the demon slayers respect that she would never completely get back. And as for Inuyasha…

She was never ever going to be able to look at the hanyou the same way again. It was that simple. The image of his glorious naked body in the pale moonlight would stay with her for the rest of her life, even when she was old and grey and could barely remember her own name. Every time she closed her eyes, Kagome would see his bare form in her dreams. Every time she rode on his back she would hold on to his neck and imagine the muscle hidden underneath the encompassing folds of his haori. From now on the greatest feat she could possibly accomplish would be if she could get through an entire day without an impure thought with Inuyasha as the star.

But even as Kagome cursed her teenage hormones for getting her into this mess and making her life that much more difficult (Wasn't it hard enough without them getting in the way?), in her heart she knew that given the opportunity, she would do it all over again. It had been totally and completely worth it.

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Personally, I think Inuyasha is every bit as hot as Sesshomaru, though admittedly not in the same way. I think you'd all agree with me when I say they _do not_ have those brothers take their clothes off enough. I mean, look at all the times Kagome and Sango have wandered around in the buff! Come on animators! I know you're trying to appeal to a boy demographic, but females like seeing some skin too!

Alright, I'm done with that rant. Please review. You _know_ you want to.

_Goes off to mop up fan girl drool_


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